


Mark’s Not Gay, He’s A Workaholic (Or Not)

by domxho



Category: Social Network (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-15
Updated: 2013-04-15
Packaged: 2017-12-08 15:23:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/762937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domxho/pseuds/domxho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark overhears Chris and Dustin at work and starts to wonder about the reality of his and Eduardo’s relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mark’s Not Gay, He’s A Workaholic (Or Not)

**Author's Note:**

> only slight (and unseen) Chris/Dustin.
> 
> idea came from Will & Grace, when Will is alone in the cooking club and one of the other couples in the class quarrel about the husband's brother being a workaholic and NOT gay (turns out he is in the end. ditto for this).

It’s when he overhears Chris and Dustin’s hushed conversation that Mark realizes his sexuality is apparently a big issue.

“He’s not gay, Dustin. He’s a workaholic,” Mark hears Chris whisper in the office bathroom.

“But Eduardo-” he starts loud, but Chris shushes him. “How long have they been living together? How long has Eduardo come in to bring Mark lunch and dinner and bring him home after everyone else has left?”

“Listen, Dustin, it’s- you’re reading into it too much.”

“No, I’m not!” Chris shushes him again, apparently by putting his hand over his mouth, because Mark only hears muffled sounds.

“Just because I’m gay, and you might be, and we’ve done things, doesn’t mean that Mark is too.”

Mark flushes, because what. The. Hell.

“It’s not about that! Eduardo is too and he said yesterday that he-”

On goes Chris’s hand again, Mark assumes.

“We have to talk about this somewhere else. Mark is about to come in for his morning bathroom break, and he cannot hear us talking.”

Mark hears Dustin sigh, hand gone, then hears some foot movement and then noises that can only be the two of them kissing before sounds coming toward the door where Mark is perched. He shuffles away quickly, barely managing to remain hidden as he tries to come to terms with the fact that not only are his best friends gay for each other, and not only is Eduardo gay himself, but they noticed Mark’s bathroom schedule when even he didn’t.

– –

Eduardo picks him up late that night, like he has for several months now, ever since he returned to Mark’s life.

It was simple, in some aspects, and not so in others. Mark invited Eduardo back in with open arms; Eduardo, not so much. But over time, over three years, Eduardo has learned Mark’s cues and Mark has learned his, and they’ve managed to escape several fights, and when Eduardo’s lease ended on his apartment, Mark invited him to move in. And Eduardo did.

Mark really didn’t think much of it at the time – he was doing his best friend a favor, and he himself took a lot of joy in living with someone, especially Eduardo, like it was the good old days back at Harvard.

Now, Mark wonders how he could have been so blind.

– –

Eduardo picks him up like usual, talks all the way home about deadlines and his job and the weather, like usual, and Mark nods along and wonders.

Finally, when they get home and Eduardo is serving dinner, Mark speaks.

“Are you gay?”

Eduardo nearly drops his plate but quickly recovers, clearing his throat and sitting down across from Mark.

“Why would you-”

“It’s a question.”

Eduardo swallows, still not looking at Mark, and puts the napkin in his lap. “Yes, I am, Mark.”

Mark looks at him, tries to be bothered by this and finds that he can’t be, so he just shrugs. “Okay.”

Eduardo sighs, in relief, Mark assumes, and they eat dinner.

The second question comes after he’s brushed his teeth and Eduardo is in his room on his laptop.

He doesn’t knock.

“Are you in love with me?”

Mark stands there, in the doorway, and watches Eduardo freeze, continue typing, then shut his laptop.

“What made you-” He stops himself, because he expects Mark to cut him off, but he doesn’t, so he continues. “What made you ask that, Mark?”

“That’s not an answer.”

Eduardo bites his lip to keep from spitting back a hateful remark. “Why, Mark.”

Mark is taken aback at his tone. “Answer the question.”

“Answer mine, Mark.”

“Why are you mad?”

Eduardo pauses and breathes in deeply. Afterwards he has a much nicer tone. “What brought this up, Mark?”

“Chris and Dustin were talking at work, and they implied a few things, and it made me reevaluate our situation.”

“Our situation?”

“Yes.”

Eduardo pushes his laptop away and stands, and it’s then that Mark realizes he’s not wearing any pants, just boxer-briefs.

“What do you think of our situation, Mark?”

He stands just before the programmer, arms crossed, with a hint of a glare on his face.

“Just in general, or-”

“Answer.”

Mark stumbles. “I- well, it’s- it bothers me that you haven’t answered my question.”

“Answer mine first.”

Mark sighs loudly, hating when Eduardo gets like this. “I like our- situation, and I’m sorry but I don’t know what else to call it.” He runs his hand through his hair, struggling to not look south of Eduardo’s nonexistent belt.

“You like it?”

Mark nods, staring at the floor. After a few moments of silence, he adds, “are you going to answer my question now?”

“You want me to answer your question?”

Mark nods again, but this time manages a glance up at Eduardo. Frankly, he’s looking complexed, bamboozled, and Mark tries to understand why his brain went to that word to describe Eduardo when Eduardo lunges himself at Mark and kisses him.

Eduardo’s hands hold Mark’s face, and he stands with his legs on either side of Mark’s, their bodies just a ghost of a touch close. He kisses him like Mark has seen people do in movies, usually in the rain and after a harsh breakup, and Mark’s toes curl and his hands grip Eduardo’s elbows, and he kisses back.

As soon as he does, Eduardo groans and steps forward so their chests are touching, tilts his head and wraps one arm around Mark’s back. He licks his lips and pulls back for a breath just before he goes in again. This time Mark’s mouth is open, and just as he’s moving closer to Eduardo, the Brazilian steps back, panting rather heavily.

Mark opens his eyes after a second to see Eduardo flushed, licking his lips and looking like he could do that again but would feel guilty about that.

(Mark marvels that he can tell that emotion just from the look on Eduardo’s face.)

Instead, Eduardo mumbles, “there’s your answer,” and walks out of the room.

When Mark determines with confidence that he can walk, he does, and finds Eduardo in the kitchen, cleaning the already-clean counter.

He opens his mouth several times, each an attempt to say something, but he’s not sure what to say.

Eduardo starts on the dishes in the sink, two solitary plates from their dinner, and Mark barely hears him when he finally speaks.

“I’m sorry I did that.”

Mark is too confused to question him, but fortunately Eduardo answers himself.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t do that until – if, until – unless you, unless I knew you felt the same.” His voice is sad, Mark can tell. “So I’m really sorry.”

Mark wants to say don’t be, he wants to say I feel the same, but his mouth cannot form syllables.

Eduardo misreads his silence, his voice getting softer.

“When do you want me to leave?”

Words, Mark remembers Dustin teasing him years back when this happened to him last. Use your words, Mark.

“I’ll leave tonight. I’ll go pack my things and stay at a hotel.”

Eduardo places the dishes down with a finality and turns and walks past Mark, not looking at him. But Mark saw him, his face, how upset he was, and that was what finally made Mark do something.

He catches Eduardo’s elbow, and the action reminds him of just five minutes ago, and he flushes from his head to his feet. He finally catches Eduardo’s eyes, tries to ignore the tears forming in them but can’t.

“What,” Eduardo whispers, his voice cracking in the middle of the one syllable.

Mark nods, because that is all he can physically do in terms of communication.

Eduardo stares at him, and Mark is still nodding, and he knows Eduardo isn’t getting it so he pulls him in close so their bodies are touching.

“Mark,” Eduardo mumbles. His breath catches when Mark puts his hand on the back of his neck.

Mark keeps nodding until he pulls Eduardo down, until their lips meet.

Eduardo moves into it then just as suddenly pulls away.

“You-”

“Yes, Wardo,” Mark says in a hushed breath, finally getting words out.

Eduardo makes a high-pitched noise and kisses him square on the mouth. Mark feels his body being pushed against the counter, and the kiss turns passionate and desperate.

He feels Eduardo take him, he feels Eduardo’s passion in the kiss, and he wonders how on Earth he managed to last this long without this.

He clutches Eduardo with all of his strength and moans when Eduardo’s hips thrust against his own.

After the movement, Eduardo pulls away from his lips and puts his face in his neck, pushing him more against the counter with his hips.

“Thought about this so much, I-”

“Yeah.” Mark’s hands move down to the small of Eduardo’s back.

“Never thought, it would- fuck-” He rushes back to Mark’s mouth and kisses him, kisses him, kisses him.

After a few moments, they have to catch their breath again, and the kiss has slowed down in its ferocity.

“You- you, you feel the same?”

Mark thinks about it. Really thinks about it.

Eduardo has always been a fixture in his life, since the day he met him. Even when he fucked up and lost him, he missed Eduardo and wanted him back. Like a part of himself left along with him. And when Eduardo returned, when he moved in, that part of him was back, officially, and he doesn’t know how he could have missed those feelings.

Yes, of course Mark feels the same.

Mark uses his words.


End file.
